The Civic Holiday Weekend brings
Barrie Ontario Kempenfest
annually and this year, like
every other, has Marc De Groote
in attendance. Art history
can be seen in the making at
Kempenfest goers have a chance
to see Marc create his
submission for the Canadian
wildlife habitat stamp
competition.

Artist
paints wings to winAugust 6, 2009 -
by Marcia Downham
Story and photo by Marcia
Downham
The Muskoka Sun

Parry Sound artist Marc De
Groote has been officially
invited to take part in one of
Canada’s most prestigious art
competitions.

After submitting a few pieces of
his work to Wildlife Habitat
Canada, De Groote was given what
he calls “an honour of a
lifetime” when he received a
letter inviting him to
participate in the Canadian
Wildlife Habitat Conservation
Stamp and Print Competition.

Bursting with excitement, De
Groote says, “I have known about
this competition for many, many
years and never in my wildest
dreams did I ever imagine I
would get to be one of the lucky
artists invited to compete.”

For more than 20 years, talented
artists from across Canada have
been chosen to compete for a
chance to have their artwork
featured on the Canadian
Wildlife Habitat Conservation
stamp.

Produced by Environment Canada
and Wildlife Habitat Canada, the
stamps feature migratory birds
of Canada and are required to
validate the migratory game bird
hunting permit. They are also
sold to stamp collectors and
print collectors around the
world.

According to the Wildlife
Habitat Canada website, the
stamp program has helped to
raise more than $33 million for
habitat conservation initiatives
in Canada.

Renowned wildlife artist Robert
Bateman created the artwork for
the first stamp in 1985.
Bateman, who has been awarded 10
honorary doctorates and has
three schools named after him,
also produced the artwork for
this year’s stamp celebrating
the organization’s 25th
anniversary. Canadian realist
Michael Dumas, an avid
conservationist exhibited in
numerous galleries and museums
internationally, had his work
featured on the 1990 stamp.

“There are many world-famous
artists who have been featured
on these stamps, and for me to
be given a chance at this type
of recognition is absolutely
mind blowing,” says De Groote,
who admits he gets a little
scared when he thinks about the
level of talent the competition
calls for.

“I have my moments where I ask
myself am I really good enough
to do this,” he says, “but when
I look at the letter of
invitation and then look at my
art, I am reminded and yell at
myself, yes you can.”

De Groote and the other
competing artists are required
to paint the Wildlife Habitat
Conservation’s bird of choice
for its 2011 stamp, the American
wigeon.

De Groote picked up painting
full time in 2001. He is a
self-taught realist artist, with
no formal training, whose vivid
paintings are greatly influenced
by the beauty of nature.

Birds, wildlife, portraits,
pets, landscapes and lighthouses
are all part of his artistic
repertoire, but it is apparent
birds are his favourite subject.

“The fact that every stamp for
the competition is artwork
depicting birds in their natural
habitat was a calling — they are
definitely one of the things I
do best,” he says.

Over the last month, De Groote
has spent more than 60 hours
working on his stamp painting
and says, “I still have a long
way to go before it’s perfect.”

He has until Oct. 14 to submit
his painting for the 2011
competition and until that time,
he is forbidden to reveal his
artwork to the public.

In order for De Groote’s
painting to be eligible to win,
it must first go through three
sets of scoring, where a panel
of judges critique his art
according to a number of
criteria, including the accuracy
of the species’ anatomy,
accuracy of the habitat
component, how realistically the
painting presents the subject,
the use of light, colour,
technique and form, and how well
the painting presents a fresh
perspective.

The winning artist receives a
$5,000 award and the prestige of
their artwork appearing on the
2011 stamp. The most recent
winner, announced for the 2010
stamp and print competition, was
artist Pierre Girard of Ste-Anne
de Sorel, Quebec, for his
painting Springtime at the Marsh
— Green-winged Teal.

“Any artist who wins this
competition is automatically put
on the map — it’s one thing to
be invited, but it is another to
actually win,” explains De
Groote.

“I am giving this everything I
have; an opportunity like this
doesn’t land at your doorstep
every day,” he states, adding,
“I am more focused than I have
ever been.”